Advice needed on uk visa for my partner

[Aranyrammie]

Hi everybody, has the visa to UK changed? Not looked online for a good few months and cannot find the pages I looked at previously. What I want to do is apply for a visa for my thai wife and her 2 children to settle in the UK with myself and our 6 year old son. Can anybody help, bit confused as to where the original webpage gas gone.

[theoldgit]

Start from here

 

http://www.vfsglobal.co.uk/thailand/

 

https://www.gov.uk/uk-family-visa

[7by7]

The biggest hurdle for most is the financial requirement. Not just meeting it, but getting all the required paperwork together as well.

 

Note that as your wife and two step children are applying you will need an income of at least £24,800 p.a. or cash savings of at least £78,000. Income, but not self employed income, and cash savings above £16000 can be combined to reduce the amount of each required. 

 

For full details, see the financial requirement appendix.

 

If you were born in the UK or a qualifying territory then your son is almost certainly a British citizen and so does not need a visa to live in the UK and so is not included in the financial requirement. If you have not already done so,  get a British passport for him.

[Aranyrammie]

Thanks for the replies. I need to give you more details. Our son is now a British Citizen(by decent), living in the UK with me. He is severely disabled and I am his carer. I cannot work because of his needs. He receives DLA on the higher level for both care and mobility. I receive income support, carers allowance, child tax credits and child benefit. When I was looking at visas on the UK.gov website about 6 months ago, I downloaded guidance notes on the visa I thought WE needed, when I look on website now, I cannot find it. Yesterday, I downloaded a form FLR(FP) Application for leave to remain in the UK on the basis of your family life as a partner, parent or dependant child etc. Do you have any knowledge of this form? Am I looking at the wrong visa? I will click on the links you sent to see if it will take me to where I need to be.

 From what I remember about the guidance notes from 6 months ago, I was exempt from meeting financial requirements but still needed adequate maintenance. As long as I can use my sons DLA payments along with tax credits, income support/carers allowance, child benefit then I worked out that I had adequate maintenance as I dont pay rent or have a mortgage as we live with my mother.  Just looked on the link you provided and looks like I have been going to the right section. What would be best to apply for,  partner/spouse or parent? Forget that, just seen where it says must apply as partner if possible.

Edited October 5, 2017 by Aranyrammie
not finished

[7by7]

21 hours ago, Aranyrammie said:

He is severely disabled and I am his carer. I cannot work because of his needs. He receives DLA on the higher level for both care and mobility. I receive income support, carers allowance, child tax credits and child benefit..........

From what I remember about the guidance notes from 6 months ago, I was exempt from meeting financial requirements but still needed adequate maintenance.

Not really exempt as such, but you can do so through what is known as "adequate maintenance."

 

This means you need to show that you can financially support your wife and step children without claiming any public funds other than those you already receive for yourself and your son.

 

See '3.6. Meeting the financial requirement through “adequate maintenance”' in the financial appendix. 

 

You also need to show that they will be adequately accommodated. Obviously your wife can share a bedroom with you, but her children will need one for themselves. If they are the same sex they can share, but if not they will need one each, unless both are under 10 years old. If one or both are boys and under 10 then they could share with your son.

 

That you live with your mother, who I assume owns the property, is not a problem; provided there is room for everyone. She should write a supporting letter inviting your wife and her children to live with you and her in which she describes the property and who else lives there to show that there is sufficient room for you all.

 

Further details of how ECOs assess both adequate maintenance and accommodation can be found at Guidance: Maintenance and accommodation (MAA). Note that the onus is upon the applicant and sponsor to provide the necessary evidence to show that these, and the other, requirements are met. See the Guide to supporting documents for suggestions of what is required. Note 'suggestions:' what you actually provide depends upon your circumstances. The only mandatory documents relate to how one meets the financial requirement, but as you are doing so via adequate maintenance there are no mandatory documents required. Though, of course, you need to provide relevant documents to show you can do this.

 

21 hours ago, Aranyrammie said:

Yesterday, I downloaded a form FLR(FP) Application for leave to remain in the UK on the basis of your family life as a partner, parent or dependant child etc. Do you have any knowledge of this form? Am I looking at the wrong visa?

Yes, you are looking at the wrong form. One cannot apply for leave to remain in the UK unless one is already in the UK.

 

Your wife and her children need to apply for a visa to enter the UK, which if granted will allow them to come to the UK to live with you. Then after they have lived in the UK for 2.5 years they apply for FLR. 2.5 years after that they apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain, also known as 'settlement.'

 

See "2. Apply as a partner or spouse" and "4. Apply as a child" from theoldgit's second link.

 

Note that your wife's children must be under 18 and she must have sole parental responsibility for them; that is neither their biological father nor his family take any part in their care. Relatively easy to show as they live with her.

 

Whilst her children can be added to her application, unfortunately the fee will be £1464 each! In addition they, or you, will need to pay the NHS surcharge; £300 each.

 

Your wife will need an English certificate, her children wont. All three will need a TB certificate.

 

 

[Aranyrammie]

Thank you very much 7by7 for clearing hat up. Hopefully we shouldn't have any problems. House is owned outright and has enough bedrooms.

 I don't suppose you know anything about schooling in the U.K. do you? I guess I cannot apply until they have either approved visas or are in the UK, would that be correct? Sorry it's a bit off subject.

 

[7by7]

2 minutes ago, Aranyrammie said:

I don't suppose you know anything about schooling in the U.K. do you? I guess I cannot apply until they have either approved visas or are in the UK, would that be correct? Sorry it's a bit off subject.

Local education authorities have a legal obligation to provide a school place for all children of school age living in their area, regardless of the child's immigration status.

 

Other than that, I can only speak from my own experience when my step daughter arrived; but that was nearly 18 years ago and things may have changed. I contacted our local primary school after my wife and step daughter's visas were approved, but before they arrived. The head of that school went out of her way to help; she arranged everything for us, saying that if we followed the official path of applying to the LEA things would take ages to sort out.

 

So, officially you should apply to your LEA; unofficially it's worth talking to a few schools directly..

[Aranyrammie]

Thanks again 7by7, just phoned local authority but phone lines are busy, I believe its near the deadline for next years admissions, hence the busy phones. Will call the local schools directly now, thanks again for the help.

[bigyin]

I went through the school process about 2yeas ago and even if the application deadline has passed you can still apply.  I think it is called an in year application.  Your local authority website will have all the relevant application forms etc.  I applied from Thailand and arranged to meet the headteacher on arrival in the UK.  It was a bit of a hassle but all worked out in the end.